Middle Orient

In retrospect, Germany’s much-vaunted Hezbollah ban appears to have been little more than a publicity stunt aimed at silencing critics of the German government’s pro-Iran foreign policy. Hezbollah has effectively evaded the ban by transferring many of its activities to charities and cultural centers controlled by Iran. Iran’s main base …

Dialogue seems to be in vogue in today’s Middle East. Iranian and American negotiators are in Vienna to find a way to restore the 2015 nuclear deal that President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018. Iranian and Saudi security officials recently held meetings in Baghdad to mend their relations. and …

Iranians will go to the polls this Friday to choose the successor to centrist President Hassan Rouhani, who is winding down his second four-year term and cannot run for reelection. The polls will take place in an atmosphere of widespread public apathy, as voters choose from a list of presidential …

No Israeli casualties as female alleged assailant targets soldiers northeast of Jerusalem; attacker reportedly wrote on Facebook: ‘I don’t have much time left in life’ A female Palestinian assailant attempted to commit a car-ramming and stabbing attack Wednesday in the central West Bank before being shot, the Israel Defense Forces …

The British lawyer urges countries to utilize Hague-based court only as ‘last resort’; predecessor warns of efforts to ‘politicize’ investigations British lawyer Karim Khan was sworn in Wednesday as the new chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, pledging to reach out to nations that are not members of the …

Experts say Jordanian intelligence leaked former minister’s confession before trial; ex-crown prince Hamzah reportedly said control over Jerusalem holy sites not a priority for him A former Jordanian minister facing charges of sedition against King Abdullah II sought to re-establish his residency in Jerusalem in order to conduct real estate …

After two dozen fires in southern Israel, army says it struck Hamas ‘terror sites’ in Khan Younis and Gaza City; initial Palestinian reports say none injured The Israel Defense Forces carried out a series of airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning in response to over two dozen fires …

Today, June 15, 2021, Israeli Jewish supremacists are marching in East Jerusalem as Palestinians call for a ‘Day of Rage’ in response. “We call on all free people everywhere to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and its just cause and end the Israeli aggression on our people and …

Just hours after far-right marchers chanted “Death to Arabs!” during a demonstration in the streets of Jerusalem, Israeli war planes bombarded the occupied Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning in the first series of airstrikes launched by the new government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a former IDF officer who once …

The Arab League’s forum of foreign ministers convened in Qatar on Tuesday to discuss a string of pressing issues concerning the Arab world, chief among them the crisis over the Nile River between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia; tensions in Jerusalem and Gaza between Israel and Palestinians; events in Lebanon, Syria …